The Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has said the proposed floating dry-dock project was in progress and likely to be completed in 2017.
Peterside told the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja that the project, when completed, would enable ship owners dry-dock in the country.
He said: “It is not true that government has scraped the establishment of the proposed floating shipyard or dock yard in the Delta area; it is absolutely not correct.
“Recall that before I joined NIMASA team, they had already established a business case for a floating dry-dock where owners of ship can dry-dock their vessels from time to time.
“It was realised at a time that 85 per cent or 90 per cent of those who own vessels dry-dock their vessels outside the country and we felt it encourages capital flight and that it doesn’t support the industry.
“So they got into a relationship with a firm in Netherland to build a floating dry dock in the Netherland and in Romania.
“That project is on; when we joined the NIMASA team, we resolved to continue and follow it to its logical completion.
“We believe it will be completed this year and once it is completed, it is brought into the country, we should be able to dry dock most if not 100 per cent at least 90 per cent of our vessel in-country.”
The Director-General said that another issue around the floating dry dock was location, adding that the agency had resolved to make the decision on location business related.
Peterside said: “When we complete the dry dock, the location will be a business decision and many factors will be considered before we decide where it will be located.
“And studies are going on right now on where best it will be located.
“lt is absolutely not true that we have cancelled that project; that project is on.
“It is progressing at pace and we believe that it will be completed this year.”
On remittance of operating surplus of NIMASA to the government, Peterside said the agency was up to date with its remittances both in naira and the dollar component.
He said: “I carefully read through the list, NIMASA was not one of those listed.
“A number of our sister agencies were listed as not remitting their operating surplus as at when due to the consolidated revenue fund.
“I am here to reaffirm that NIMASA remits its operating surplus to the consolidated revenue firm as at when due and as today we are up to date.
“I am not one of those agencies that were indicted and we couldn’t have been indicted because we remit our operating surplus to the consolidated revenue.
“At a time it is possible that NIMASA we were not remitting, but today we are up to date.
“We are remitting both the naira component and the dollar component.”
NAN.
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